Newsletter of the National Indigenous Women's Resource Center

Pre-AFN annual convention, October 19, 2016 at Tanana Chiefs Conference’s David Salmon Tribal Hall in Fairbanks, Alaska, the Alaska Native Women’s Resource Center (AKNWRC) hosted the 2nd Unity Meeting to Increase the Safety of Alaska Native Women and the play Sliver of a Full Moon. The AKNWRC organized the day’s events in partnership with the National Indigenous Women’s Resource Center, Indian Law Resource Center and the National Congress of American Indians and with the generous support of tribes, tribal organizations, the Office on Violence Against Women, and many others.

The purpose of the events was to increase understanding of violence against women facing Native women and Alaska tribes, update on grassroots organizing efforts by village-based advocates, tribes and their allies at the local, state, national and international levels to advocate for social change, and begin discussions with tribal leaders about what changes in tribal, state and federal responses are critical to implement to increase women’s safety.

Mike Williams, tribal leader of the Akiak Native Community stated, “The Unity Meeting and the play Sliver of a Full Moon are tribal grassroots organizing efforts to provide updates, share stories, and ensure discussion among tribal leaders, elders, advocates, and survivors from all tribes across Alaska. Through regular, annual Unity Meetings before each AFN, we can work together to resolve local problems by identifying changes in laws and policies at the tribal, state and federal levels. I look forward to working with our Alaska tribes, the Alaska Native Women’s Resource Center and our many allies to end the high statistics of violence, suicide and other injustices our people face.”

This video describes the findings of a National Institute of Justice (NIJ) supported study on the prevalence of violence against American Indian and Alaska Native women and men. Specifically, the study provides estimates of sexual violence, physical violence by intimate partners, stalking, and psychological aggression by intimate partners over the lifetime of American Indian and Alaska Native women and men as well as victimization estimates over of the past year (based on 2010 data). It also provides estimates of interracial and intraracial victimizations and briefly examines the impact of violence. The results should be used to raise awareness and understanding about violence against American Indian and Alaska Native women and men.

The study used a large nationally representative sample from the National Intimate Partner and Sexual Violence Survey (NISVS). The NISVS was launched in 2010 by CDC’s National Center for Injury Prevention and Control, with the support from the Department of Defense and NIJ.